A fluorescent lamp is generally classified as a glow start lamp, an instant lamp, or a rapid start lamp.
Glow start lamps provide poor visibility, however, during the long period of time required to light the lamp and also because the light flickers for an extended period.
Recently, a prior art rapid start lamp was developed in order to overcome the above stated disadvantages. However, this prior art rapid start lamp requires a comparatively high voltage in order to turn it on (i.e. three to four times the voltage of the glow start lamp).
Therefore, the volume and weight of the ballast for the rapid start lamp is increased because the capacity of the ballast corresponds to its volume.
When high voltage is supplied to the rapid start lamp during turn on, oxide material such as barium which coats the electrodes at each end of a fluorescent tube is removed by the high temperature caused by the high voltage, such that both ends of the fluorescent lamp become black and non-conductive.
Therefore, the operational life of the fluorescent lamp decreases drastically in such rapid start lamps. Additionally, noise created by a high frequency component of the high voltage can cause an error in an adjacent computer which is sensitive to the influence of the surrounding situation.